Due to the increasingly large number of sports and recreational activities enthusiasts now engage, there is a corresponding demand that sporting equipment also support the diversity and nature of these activities. Furthermore, there is a demand that the equipment be useable in many different situations. Accordingly, sporting equipment is often designed to be adjustable, allowing it to be applied in more situations, be removable and be useable with various secondary devices.
One such type of sports related equipment is the load carrier foot device which typically attaches load bars to vehicle roofs. Advantageously, such load carrier foot devices have been designed so that they can each be mounted on many types of vehicles of various sizes and shapes. Typically via the attached load bars, the load carrier foot provides a means for mounting additional sporting goods on top of a vehicle for conveniently transporting them to desired locations. One such load carrier device is a load carrier foot disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,012 the disclosure of which is herein expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.
There are many types of load carrier foot devices, for example, those which are adapted to clamp to a railing which is mounted on a vehicle. One prominent type of load carrier foot, however, has an upper portion which interacts with the load carrier bar and further has a lower portion which grips and abuts the upper edge portion of the vehicle roof. A clamping plate can be used along with a fastening bolt for tightening the load carrier foot to the roof and safely fixing it thereon.
In order to fasten the clamping plate onto the vehicle roof or rail, a user or operator must tighten the load carrier foot. In order to do so, a bolt, wrench, or fastening mechanism must be turned by the operator and torque applied for such tightening. In the past, an operator has had to guess at what point the load carrier foot is suitably tightened. Undesirably, if it is too loose, the foot may accidentally come off the vehicle. On the other hand, if it is over-tightened various drawbacks can also occur such as causing damage to the vehicle roof or crossbar, the bolt or fastener can be stripped or damaged, and there can be damage to other components to the foot device, as well.
The same applies to other sporting equipment that requires tightening or adjustment by an operator. Such sporting equipment applications include attaching accessories devices such as a bike rack to a load bar, where appropriate level of tightness can be important. The operator is given no guide for an appropriately applied torque, whether too much or too little. There is a need therefore for means of notifying an operator who is tightening the load carrier foot or other sports equipment when an appropriate torque or tightness has been achieved. Furthermore, there is a need for a mechanism which may prevent an operator from over-tightening and causing damage to the device itself or object it is attached to.
In view of the above described deficiencies associated with the use of known sports carriers and equipment that require tightening features, the present invention has been developed to alleviate the drawbacks and provide further benefits to the user. These enhancements and benefits are described in greater detail hereinbelow with respect to several alternative embodiments of the present invention.